Immediate Passage Comprehension and Encoding of Information Into Long-Term Memory in Children With Normal Hearing: The Effect of Voice Quality and Multitalker Babble Noise.

Abstract

This study examines how voice quality and multitalker babble noise affect immediate passage comprehension and the efficiency of information encoding into long-term memory in children with normal hearing. Eighteen children (mean age = 9 years) with normal hearing participated. Immediate passage comprehension performance and delayed performance (after 5 to 8 days) were assessed for 4 listening conditions: a typical voice in quiet, a typical voice in noise, a dysphonic voice in quiet, and a dysphonic voice in noise. Multitalker babble noise had a significant effect on immediate and delayed performance. This effect was more pronounced for delayed performance. No significant main effect of voice quality was seen on immediate or delayed performance. Multitalker babble noise impairs immediate passage comprehension and encoding of information into long-term memory for later recall in children with normal hearing. In learning situations where competing speech signals are present, background noise may reduce the prerequisites for optimal learning.